Now another piece to the culinary puzzle has been added to the commercial zone on Harvest Hills Blvd. in the environs of the T & T Asian supermarket.

Koiji — whose first three letters, of course, translate to carp in Japanese is a sleek, upscale-fashioned eatery that first began slinging sushi in early July.

Those who insist on sake with their meals will find about a half-dozen selections of the rice wine.

While hewing to many of the familiar Japanese food tropes, its owners have taken a few western liberties with their menu, though not all of them are necessarily westernizing.

Among the grilled selections is beef tongue alongside the yakitori, or traditional skewered chicken.

Koiji also follows the lead of many other Japanese eateries in tossing curveballs to distinguish themselves, pushing it a little too far in small ways like flavouring its water pitchers with cucumber instead of lemon.

Fortunately, the starters that emerged from the kitchen — like the salmon carpaccio ($16) — were spot on.

Melt in-the-mouth slices of lightly seared Atlantic salmon were deliciously doused in a yuzo-gosho vinaigrette, whose citrus character merged perfectly with the fish, as did the arugula topping.

The clam sakemushi ($14) featured the in-shell morsels bathed in a sauce delightful in its garlic savour and subtle sake accents.

Koiji’s black cod ($12) delivered a cut of fish of a satiny supple texture, given a muted sweetness from its marriage with miso, that mainstay Japanese broth.

Garnished with a pinkish sprout of raw ginger, this was elegant, tasty simplicity very much in the Japanese sphere.

The negiri sushi was very good, as exemplified by the mackerel which discriminating suhi-ist Mizue insisted had just the perfect oiliness.

Their fresh scallop negiri was velvet-soft almost to the point of being buttery.

Their dynamite roll ($9) boasted a complex flavour mix and a notable crunchy texture with its prawn tempura and cucumber while the outer ring of rice was studded with sesame seeds and powdered seaweed.

We got our eye candy with the rainbow-hued, six-piece Stampeder roll ($10) that was as tasty as it appeared — packed with flying fish roe, salmon, tuna and prawn.

One drawback with the otherwise tasty California rolls, we found, was the toughness of the seaweed wrap.

Our host recommended one sushi departure that’s proven popular in Koiji’s short life — the kim chi galbi ($12).

This nod to Korean fare — hugely popular and influential in Japan — served up delicious, tender barbecued beef and along with moderately-spicy kim chi, or pickled vegetable.

It wasn’t exactly traditional but it was fun and flavourable.

The sushi’s a bit on the pricy side at Koiji. But the servers were eager to please.